It feels like the “L” portion of the LGBTQ science-fiction romance subgenre has been somewhat underserved in terms of visibility and discussion. What’s not to relish about two strong heroines, adventure and romance? So I asked a number of authors who have written lesbian sci-fi or fantasy romance to share the writing appeal of these stories, their inspiration for a recent f/f sci-fi romance or fantasy novel and what’s on their reading lists.

I started with Gail Carriger, who, as her bio states, “writes steampunk comedies of manners mixed with paranormal romance. Her books include the Parasol Protectorate, Custard Protocol, Supernatural Society and Delightfully Deadly series for adults and the Finishing School series for young adults. She is published in many languages and has over a dozen NYT bestsellers via seven different lists (No. 1 in Manga). She was once an archaeologist and is overly fond of shoes, octopuses and tea.”

Veronica: There can be no “overly fond of shoes” situation. LOL. What drew you to writing f/f romance, Gail?

Gail: It seems to me that popular lesbian romance tends to lean towards a contemporary setting with mystery/suspense subplots. I felt that by writing Genevieve and Imogene’s story I could fill a hole in the market … erm, no pun intended. I wanted to give f/f readers something with an alt-history bent and a lighthearted feel. Just in case there was someone like me, out there, looking for it.

Veronica: What was your biggest inspiration for writing Romancing the Inventor?

Gail: I’ve been wanting to give Madame Lefoux her happy ending for years. She’s such a fun character to write, this brilliant cross-dressing French inventor, with her flirtatious ways, questionable ethics and broken heart. Partly as a result of this, Genevieve Lefoux shows up in many of my Parasolverse books. However, she is chronically unlucky in love. I guess I was waiting for the right woman to come along and sweep her off her feet (or in this case, dust her off them). Imogene popped into my head and they were just so perfect for each other I knew I had to write the story.

Veronica: What f/f or LGBTQ sci-fi (or steampunk) romances would you recommend?

Gail: This is a hard question for me to answer as almost all the romance I read is LGBTQ, so I’ll focus on my favorite f/f stuff. I really enjoyed The Winter Triangle by Nikki Woolfolk. It has a fascinating alt-history cultural premise, a steampunk Old West feel, a sweet romance and compelling characters.

SteamPowered is an anthology of steampunk lesbian story stories edited by JoSelle Vanderhooft. It’s a great place to start because readers get to experience 15 different author voices, and possibly find new favorites.

Karen Memory by Elizabeth Bear is more steampunk than it is romance, but there is some great f/f love tucked in there. Bear wields her vivid imagination with the sharpest of prose, it almost hurts to read her sometimes.

One of my favorite fantasy books featuring a lesbian romances is Sword Masters by Selina Rosen, which features fantastic swords-women and epic battles. I’m kinda a sucker for any book where a girl cross-dresses to undermine the patriarchy (I blame Tamora Pierce). (Read more from Gail on lesbians in genre fiction.)

Aidee Ladnier, author of Elusive Radiance

Veronica: What drew you to writing f/f romance, Aidee?

Aidee: I’m drawn to writing science-fiction because that’s what I enjoy reading. It’s the fiction of infinite possibilities, wonder and hope. Science-fiction shares that with another genre — romance.

My stories begin with a specific scene, like a painting in my mind. I know where each character stands, the backstory that makes them respond in a certain way, the clothes they wear, etc.

But I also know if they’re male, female, trans, a robot or an alien. I write f/f because I recognize that the characters in a particular story are both female and both need to be female to tell the story. Men and women approach sex and romance differently. And my characters do, too. Their gender, their identity and their sexuality are important to the story I’m telling and how it progresses.

Veronica: What was your biggest influence for writing Elusive Radiance?

Aidee: I’m a bisexual. I love men. I’m married to one. But I love women, too. Male/female romance publishing has been a juggernaut for well over a century and now male/male romance is thriving, too. Female/female romance, in contrast, has had a hard time getting traction with publishers. It hurts me that women are seen as not good enough, not interesting enough as romantic leads, not sexy enough to carry a book alone without a man. I’m determined to help change that, and Elusive Radiance was my first in what I hope are many stories with female couples.

Writing this story was a joy for me. As I’m in a monogamous heterosexual relationship, it felt like stretching a muscle too long kept cramped. Or maybe like taking a deep breath after being corseted for a day. A part of myself could finally be acknowledged with this book.

Veronica: What f/f or LGBTQ sci-fi (or steampunk) romances would you recommend?

Aidee: Books I’ve read recently are Deep Deception, the third book in Cathy Pegau’s series set on the Nevarro Mining Colony. The awesome space Western Hellcat’s Bounty by Renae Jones was a ton of fun. Fixit by Erik Schubach was a cute short story I enjoyed. I also fell in love with Elizabeth Bear’s steampunk novel Karen Memory.

Bridget Essex, author of Under Her Spell

Veronica: What drew you to writing f/f romance, Bridget?

Bridget: Growing up, I was an AVID fantasy reader, always coming home from my weekly library trips with armfuls of fantasy paperbacks. I read all the greats and was constantly looking for a character like me. From an early age, I knew I liked girls, and I was so frustrated that I didn’t see someone like me in my favorite stories. I really needed positive portrayals of lesbians in my life, especially when the world was telling me I didn’t deserve to be happy, based entirely on who I loved. So, instead of being upset that I couldn’t find characters like me … I just started writing them, pouring my heart into stories full of strong, brave women who fall in love with other women. And I’ve not stopped since. 🙂

Veronica: What was your biggest inspiration for writing Under Her Spell?

Bridget: Definitely Terry Pratchett! He wrote funny, quirky fantasy novels that were so full of heart, and he’s been my favorite author my whole life. I wanted to write a quirky book, but I wanted to have a lesbian main character who went through charming, funny situations just like in his books but in an entirely original world of my own. Under Her Spell was born.

Veronica: What f/f or LGBTQ sci-fi (or steampunk) romances would you recommend?

Bridget:Roses and Thorns by Chris Anne Wolfe is utterly stunning. I adore Promises, Promises by L-J Baker (traditional fantasy, lesbians for days!). Out of Her Depth by Pike Martell is SUCH a sweet romance involving mermaids! Books on my to-be-read list include the new Alex Westmore novel in her Plundered Chronicles series. I LOVE all of the books in the series, and — really — lesbian pirates, how can you go wrong? 🙂 I recommend it highly!

Adile Lamb, author of Ninia Sebae

Veronica: What drew you to writing f/f romance, Adile?

Adile: I am a strong advocate for marriage equality. I have written a few male/male stories contemporary and fantasy. I wanted to write a female/female story to show love is truly love. People fall in love with others with the same intensity whether male/female, male/male or female/female. When I saw a few fantasy photos, Ninia’s character was born … She felt so alive and strong in my head. I had to write her tale to share it with romance love.

Veronica: What was your biggest inspiration for writing Ninia Sebae?

Adile: Fairy tale stories and mythical creatures. There is nothing more imaginative than that combination to escape the reality of life.

Veronica: What f/f or LGBTQ sci-fi (or steampunk) romances would you recommend?

Adile: Right now I’m hooked on The Comyenti Series by Natasja Hellenthal. I feel like I’m in the story going through the motions. I judge a story by its entertainment value, and this story is absolutely a pure escapism for me and yet at the same time it is thought-provoking because underneath everything, there is a sense of reality that resonates in some strong emotions. My all-time-favorite writer is J.R Ward with her BDB series. OMG … I can never put her books down. I was also recently recommended to read Heart of the Pack by Jenny Frame, so I added this author’s story to my must-read list.

Tonya Cannariato, author of The Builders

Veronica: What drew you to writing f/f romance, Tonya?

Tonya: Maybe my inner feminist? I write stories with romance despite knowing how society and academia disparage the genre. Part of it is my perception of the need to model positivity, if not optimism, despite the peril my characters (and humans generally) face. That makes the stakes in all my worlds impossibly high: overcoming tyranny and oppression. Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi and many other activists have proven this is only possible by modeling the peace, love and understanding we wish to see around us. Finding a healthy relationship with another person is the best microcosm I know of for at least radiating peace, love and understanding toward a being who is equally as complicated as you.

None of it is easy, either in real life or in stories, but it’s important to face the things we purport to hate, to understand how this reflects on ourselves and our own ability to project love into the world. Having stories that show the way to do so thus becomes an important social good.

Veronica: What was your biggest inspiration for writing The Builders?

Tonya: Actually, a non-sci-fi story, Just Girls, by Rachel Gold. The compassion and insight she showed her gender-queer characters was incredibly moving to me. Ultimately, though, I had a dream that pointed to the fact that a person who feels broken by life can still have a wellspring of love and creativity that can save someone else. That gender really has nothing to do with those emotions. And in fact, gender can be a surprise stumbling block to finding happiness.

Veronica: What f/f or LGBTQ sci-fi (or steampunk) romances would you recommend?

Tonya: There are 176 books on my TBR list at the moment, and I find new ones more often than going back to what’s on my list at Goodreads. At the moment I’m on a paranormal romance kick with The Hotel Paranormal series (fair warning, I’m a contributing author). But T-Minus Two by K.G. MacGregor looks like an interesting twist on the Mars colony inception idea, and The Abyss Surrounds Us by Emilie Skrutskie looks like too much fun with female pirates on a watery future world.

Jessica E. Subject, author of Cosmic Sutra

Veronica: What drew you to writing f/f romance, Jessica?

Jessica: I wouldn’t say anything specifically draws me to writing f/f stories, as I write hetero, gay, lesbian, bisexual and asexual characters. It simply depends on what works for the story I’m writing. But, I do enjoy writing f/f for my own sense of balance. In the romance genre, there are so many hetero romances and almost as many gay romances. Lesbian romance seems to get pushed aside or ignored. I don’t know if it’s because some readers crave the Alpha male or the idea of reading a lesbian romance makes them uncomfortable. Personally, I’d rather read and write a lesbian romance than a gay romance. Not that I’m against any type of relationship, it’s just my personal preference. But, I do believe there can be Alpha females doing the rescuing, captaining a ship, leading a battle and fighting their attraction to another woman.

Veronica: What was your biggest inspiration for writing Cosmic Sutra?

Jessica: It was actually a book/television show from my childhood called Galaxy High. Students from all over the galaxy attended high school together. Since I was writing romance, I decided to make the school a university and created new alien races. It is a place that can inspire many more stories. And I plan to visit it again in the future.

Veronica: What f/f or LGBTQ sci-fi (or steampunk) romances would you recommend?

Jessica: Deep Deception by Cathy Pegau, or any of her f/f sci-fi romances. Becoming Clissine by Anastasia Vitsky. Kate Richards also writes excellent f/f romances, but they are not sci-fi.

Veronica: I’ll close the discussion with my friend Cathy Pegau, author ofRulebreakerandDeep Deception and who was mentioned various times above for her excellent f/f sci-fi romances. She also consulted with me on putting this article together.

Cathy, what drew you to writing f/f romance?

Cathy: I read a lot of science-fiction and often wanted more intimate relationships between characters. When I decided to write Rulebreaker and was looking for a love interest for Liv, the person who popped into my head was decidedly female. That may have been due to having recently read Fingersmith (see Q2), but whatever the reason, Zia Talbot was born. As I began exploring that particular coupling (I’d never written two women together), I read more and more lesbian romances. For me, relationships between women are softer, more sensual, more emotionally binding. I’m not saying m/f or m/m can’t be those as well, or that f/f relationships can’t be purely physical or tumultuous or whatnot, but *I* lean toward those expressions.

It’s very natural for me to meld my love of SF with my enjoyment of f/f romances. In fact, very few of the SF plot bunnies I come up with now are m/f. With SF or other spec fic, I feel the sexuality of the characters is what it is and that’s that. No one in my worlds questions or criticizes. Sadly, that’s not how it happens IRL, so one of my goals is to give readers a place where loving whomever you want to love isn’t challenged.

Veronica: What was your biggest inspiration for writing Rulebreaker and Deep Deception?

Cathy: Rulebreaker was strongly influenced by my love of Sarah Waters’ Fingersmith, a historical novel. The premise of a woman going into a con to benefit herself and then having the whole thing turned on its head by falling for her mark, who happens to be a woman, caught my fancy. Waters writes amazingly complex characters and gorgeous narrative. How could I not be influenced by such brilliance?

Deep Deception essentially grew out of the demands of a secondary character to be heard. As I wrote Rulebreaker, Natalia Hallowell started to take on a life of her own, in my head if not on the page. Natalia gained more page time in Caught in Amber, and along came Genevieve Caine.

I knew I had to get these two women together. Apparently the best way to do that was for one to knock out the other. 😉

Veronica: What f/f or LGBTQ sci-fi (or steampunk) romances would you recommend?

Cathy: One of my favorite sci-fi books featuring women in relationships isn’t technically a romance at all: Ammonite by Nicola Griffith. She’s amazing. Her worlds and characters are complete and complex, much like Sarah Waters. You absorb all this detail without realizing it.

Currently on my TBR list are Passing Strange by Ellen Klages, Lise MacTague’s On Deception’s Edge trilogy and Ascension by Jacqueline Koyanagi. Now if I can just get a week or two to do nothing but read …

Amazon bestseller Veronica Scott is a seven-time recipient of the SFR Galaxy Award, and has written a number of science-fiction and fantasy romances. Her latest release is Star Survivor. You can find out more about her and her books at veronicascott.wordpress.com.